Ice-cutting device.



PATENTED DEC. 19, 1905.

P. WALKER.

ICE CUTTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22, 1905.

Fig. l.

FRANK WALKER, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

ICE-CUTTING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 19, 1905.

Application filed May 22, 1905. Serial No. 261,719.

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK WALKER, a citizen of the United States, residingat Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Ice- Cutting Device, of which the following is a specification.

The main object of the present invention is to provide means for expeditiously and economically cutting or separating blocks of ice into a large number of relatively small pieces for example, small cubes.

The invention comprises a suitable frame, support, or box and a cutting device supported thereon and comprising a series or plurality of elongated conductors or wires arranged at definite distances apart. according to the dimensions of the pieces into which the ice is to be cut, and, means for passing electric current through said conductors or wires to heat the same. The blocks of ice are cut by resting them on these wires and allowing the ice to pressby its weight against the wires, which melt their way into the ice and allow the latter to descend until it is cut through.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a plan of the device. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section on line m 00 Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line Fig. 4 is a detail of one of the Fig.5 is a section on 00 00 Fig. 1. short-circuiting clips. line 00 :0 Fig. 1.

1 designates a suitable frame, support, or box, herein shown as closed at the sides and back and open in front. The top of this box forms a support for a wire-holding frame 2, which is preferably rectangular in shape and comprises two side bars 21 22 and cross-bars 23, suitably fastened together. Wires or elongated conductors 3 3 3 are secured to and stretched on said frame 2, being, for example, passed back and forth around insulators or pins l, so as to cross and recross the frame, the portions crossing the frame being parallel to one another and the distance between such portions being equal to the thickness to whichit is desired to cut the ice. The frame 2 is formed of wood or other insulated material, and the wires 3, &c., are formed of metal of suitable resistance. Side bar 21 is adjustably connected to the cross-bars 23, as by means of screws 6, to enable it to be moved to or from the other side bar to enable the wires to be tightly stretched. Bars 21 23 are notched, as at 20, to receive these screws.

It is preferred to provide in the same device for cutting the ice in three different directions, and for this purpose one side of the device may be adapted to cut the ice into slabs of definite thickness and the other side of the device be adapted to out said slabs into cubes or rectangular prisms.

The two sides of the device are separated by the middle cross-bar 23, fastened to the side bars 21 22, a single series or set of parallel wires 3 being provided at one side of the cross-bar, while at the other side of said crossbar two series or sets of wires 3 3" are provided, the wires of each set being parallel to the wires in the same set but transverse or at right angles to the wires in the other set.

The attaching-pins 4 may be provided on the top of bars 21 22 for the single set of wires 3 on one side of the device and for one of the sets of wires on the other side of the device, while the other set of wires on said other side pins 4 may be arranged on the under side of two of the cross-bars 23 23, the wires 3" standing beneath and transversely to the wires 3.

5 5 designate binding-posts or connections for the electric-supply circuit, the wires of which are shown at 7 8,- the several sets of wires 3 3 3 being connected in series.

Short-circuiting clips 15 are desirably provided for the wires 3 3 3 where they pass over and around the insulators or pins 4., so as to short-circuit the current from the part of the wire which passes around and between the pairs of insulators. These clips being of less resistance than such portion of the wire, only a negligible part of the current will pass through the latter and there will be no material heating thereof. Said drips may be formed, as shown in Fig. 4, of a strip of metal bent at the ends to fit over two adjacent wires or a pair of parallel wires. Said clips may be slid along the wires to any desired position nearer to or farther from the insulators to afford the requisite protection to the latter.

metal (indicated atri9) which extend at right angles to the inclined frame 2, so as to guide the ice perpendicularly to the said frame. These guide-plates 9 may be attached to the frame 2 and may have perforations or notches 10 for the passage of the heating wires 8 3'. Similar guide-plates 19 may be provided at the ends of the ice-receiving spaces.

ll designates a pan, box, or receptacle for receiving the cut pieces or cubes of ice as they fall from the cutting device. Said receptacle 11 rests on the bottom of the box 1 and can be withdrawn or inserted at the open front side of the box, the latter having an inclined lip 12 to retain the water dripping from the ice, but to allow ready withdrawal or insertion of the ice-receptacle.

13 designates a drain pipe or connection from the box 1.

The device-is used as follows: The current is turned on through the wires 3 3 3", the current passing through said wires in series and bringing the same to a relatively high temperature. The block of ice to be cut is placed in one side of the framec'. 6., that shown at the right in Fig. 1and by its Weight it presses against the wires in such manner that the latter by reason of their high temperature melt the ice in lines or planes directly above the wires and the ice continually falling onto the wires as it is thus cut into until it is completely out through into a plurality of slabs, which fall into receptacle 11. Each slab is then transferred to the other side of the frame 2, and the wires 3 3" at that side act on the ice to cut it in two sets of transverse planes at once, thus separating it into cubical or rectangular blocks, the size of which is determined by the distance of the wires.

At the same time the above operation is being performed'on one block of ice another block of ice can be cut up into small pieces by an inverse operation@'. 6., placing the same first on the left-hand end of the frame in Fig. 1 to cut it into elongated prisms, then placing said prisms on the right-hand end of the frame to sever them into cubes. Thus both sides of theframe will be continually in use, thereby not only doubling the capacity of the machine, but safeguarding the machine by reason of the fact that neither of the sides is ever exposed to undue heating on account of the passage of current therethrough without any ice on the wire to cool the same.

An important feature of the above-described operation is that the weight of the ice is utilized to force the same into contact with the cutting device. This not only produces a powerful cutting effect without the use of a heavy cutting-frame, but by reason of the fact that the slits are formed on the under surface of the ice and the wires cut into the ice upwardly from below the melted water can continually drain and fall away from the cut, so as to keep the latter clear and prevent any possibility of regulation and also avoiding the waste of ice by reason of communication of heat to the walls of the slits through the water, which would occur if the water were retained in the slits or cuts.

\Vhat I claim is 1. An ice-cutting devicecomprising a plu rality of wires arranged to form a support for the ice, and means for heating-said wires.

2. An ice-cutting devicecomprising a plurality of wires arranged to form a support for the ice, and means for passing electric current through said wires to heat the same.

3. An ice-cutting device comprising a plurality of parallel wires, means for holding said wires stretched in position to form a support for the ice, and means for passing the current through said wires.

4. -An ice cutting device comprising a frame, a set of parallel wires stretched across said frame, another set of parallei wires stretched acrosssaid frame transversely-to the first set of wires, and means for passing electric current through said wires.

5. An ice cutting .device comprising a frame, a set of parallel wires-stretched across a part of said frame, and'two sets of wires stretched across another part of said frame, the wires in each of the last-named two sets being arranged parallel to the wires in the same set and transversely to the wires of the other set.

6. An ice cutting device comprising a frame, insulators on said frame, wires on said insulators and extending across the frameparallel to one another,and short-circuiting means to shunt thecurrent from the portion of the wires extending around the insulators.

7. An ice cutting device comprising a frame, insulators on said frame, wires on said insulators and extending across'theframe parallel to one another,and short-circuiting means to shunt the current from the portion of the wires extending around the insulators, said short-circuiting means comprising conducting-clips slidably engaging the wires.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, at Los Angeles, California, this 12th day of May, 1905.

FRANK WALKER.

In presence of ARTHUR P. KNIGHT, JULIA TOWNSEND. 

